Shoe sterilizer



Jan. 26, 1943. I M, M, SHAPIRO SHOE STERILIZER Filed April 21, 1941 INVENTOR: MAM/EL 11/, Sf/ 4 P120,

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 26, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT ()VFFICE SHOE STERILIZER Manuel M. Shapiro, Beverly Hills, Calif. Application April 21, 1941, Serial No. 389,524

3 Claims.

This invention relates to sterilizers for footwear, and more particularly to devices intended to be inserted in a shoe or the like for exposing the interior to the action of a germicidal emanation such as ultra violet light.

Ultra violet light has been found very efficacious in the killing of germs, but it is 9. requirement that the light strike the surface which is being treated, which, in the case of a shoe, would be the interior thereof. Furthermore the rays emitted from the source of ultra violet light should not be permitted to strike the eyes of the person operating the device. As .the exposure time is relatively short it is desirable to provide a means which will permit the rapid application to and removal from the ray emitting device of the footwear being treated.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a shoe sterilizer which can be utilized to irradiate the interior of a shoe.

It is a further object of this invention to provide means for preventing the destruction of the ray emitting element upon placing a shoe thereover.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a shoe sterilizer which exposes every part of the interior of the shoe to the rays emitted.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a shoe sterilizer which can be readily inserted in the shoe to be treated.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a ray emitting means which will retain the shoe upon simple application of the shoe thereover.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a shoe sterilizer including a ray emitting means which will be effectively masked by the shoe placed thereover to protect the eyes of the user from the efiect of the rays emitted.

This invention possesses many other advantages and has other objects which may be made more easily apparent from a consideration of one embodiment of the invention. For this purpose there is shown a form in the drawing accompanying and forming part of the present specification. This form Will now be described in detail, illustrating the general principle of the invention; but it is to be understood that this detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a device embodying the present invention with a shoe shown in dotted lines;

Figure 2 isa plan view of the device shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a section taken as indicated by line 3-3 of Figure 1.

The device shown includes a base section I!) containing the usual transformer and other electrical equipment for generating and regulating the high tension current necessary for the operation of the device. A switch and regulator H may be conveniently made part of the base section. The electrical equipment necessary is well known and will not be further described here. In order to provide a support for the element which emits the rays, the standard I2 is attached to the base section to extend upwardly therefrom. It is necessary to have the standard of sufiicient height to enable the application of a high shoe over the ray emitting element supported on it as will be hereinafter described. The standard l2 has been shown as extending upwardly and then downwardly at an angle to provide sufficient clearance for the back of the upper of a high shoe and also to facilitate the application of an Oxford.

Secured to the upper end of the standard I2 is a socket I3 adapted to cooperate with a plug M to form a support for the plug and to establish an lectrical connection between the plug and the socket. This socket and plug assembly is of the usual high tension type. The plug M has secured to it a U-shaped tube l5 of the gaseous discharge type filled with appropriate material to enable it to radiate ultra violet light upon the application of a high potential to its terminals. It will be noted that the tube 15 is U-shaped and that the legs of the U are bent upwardly at an angle to the plane of the U. This bending of the tube to give the portion I6 enables the efficient irradiation of the back of the shoe. This shape of the tube together with the downwardly inclined portion of the standard l2 also permits the tube to extend upwardly along its major portion. This facilitates the application of a shoe over the tube 15 and at the same time permits it to remain in position when applied without the aid of separate holding means. It also protects the eyes of the operator by preventing the shoe from slipping off the radiant tube.

The device so far described can be used for treating shoes, but due to the fragile nature of the tube 15 it is difficult to apply shoes of different sizes without endangering the tube. It is necessary to provide a guard means for the tube which will protect it from damage and at the same time will not obstruct the rays and prevent them from falling on all parts of the interior of the shoe. This has been done in the present instance by the provision of the guard member [1. This guard may be secured to the plug M by any suitable means such as the straps I8. It will be noted that this guard member I1 is circular in cross section and is sufliciently small in cross section to extend only between the legs of the ray emitting tube. Thus the guard I! offers very little obstruction to the rays so that the rays fall upon all parts of the interior of the shoe with the exception of the point where the guard actually engages the interior of the shoe. Due to the configuration of the guard member the engaging point is very small and the lack of radiation on that point may be eliminated by shifting the shoe after application. The guard member I! is preferably of highly polished metal or of some material which does not absorb the rays emitted, thus insuring a minimum of loss of the rays emitted by absorptionby the guard. Supporting the shoe in this fashion allows it to hang from the vamp, the center of gravity of the shoe thus being below the supporting point. The shoe thus will not turn or slip when placed over the ray emitting device and is very easy to apply and remove.

I claim:

l. A device for sterilizing shoes comprising a gaseous discharge tube of U-shaped configuration supported in position for the application of a shoe thereover, a U-shaped guard member and means supporting said guard with its legs on opposite sides of the plane of said tube and its bend exterior of and beyond .the bend of the tube.

2. A device for sterilizing shoes comprising a gaseous discharge tube of U-shaped configuration having spaced legs arranged in a plane inclined from one end of the tube to the other, a guard member having a pair of spaced legs extending on opposite sides of the plane of said U-shaped tube and a portion extending over the end of said tube, said guard legs being disposed substantially in a plane extending between the legs of said tube, and means supporting said tube and said guard in position, whereby said guard forms a support for a shoe applied over the guard and tube assembly.

3. A device for sterilizing shoes comprising a gaseous discharge tube of U-shaped configuration having spaced legs arranged in a plane inclined with the leg end of the U-shaped tube downward, each of said legs having an upwardly extending portion at an angle to the plane of the U, a U-shaped guard member having a pair of spaced legs extending on opposite sides of the plane of said U-shaped tube and having its bend exterior of and beyond the bend of the tube, said guard member being disposed substantially in a plane extending between the legs of said tube. and said guard member having an upwardly extending portion on each of its legs extending in the general direction of the extensions on the tube, and means supporting said tube and said guard, whereby said guard forms a support for a shoe applied over the guard and tube assembly.

MANUEL M. SHAPIRO. 

